Young widow, 22, welcomes ‘miracle’ baby she believes was conceived after shock death of her new husband

A young Catholic woman who lost her husband in a tragic accident on their honeymoon has given birth to a ‘miracle child’.

Nate Kuhlman, 23, and Mari Kuhlman, 22, tied the knot on October 28, 2023, in a beautiful ceremony in Florida.

But Nate was killed while water skiing on the first day of their honeymoon in Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, while she waited for him on the beach, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The couple had only spent three nights together and had chosen their wedding date specifically to avoid her getting pregnant.

But despite the period tracking app Flo telling her she had ovulated a few days before the wedding, Mari was stunned when she discovered she was pregnant on Thanksgiving.

Nate and Mari met in October 2021 at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Nate was studying to become a physician’s assistant, while Mari planned to become a lawyer or a detective.

After a year of Chick-fil-A picnics, playing pickleball and croquet matches, listening to “Godspell” songs sung by Nate on his ukulele, and watching The Mandalorian and Avatar, the couple got engaged.

They agreed not to consummate their relationship until they were married, and from then on, they would no longer use birth control, according to Catholic tradition, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The young couple prayed together every morning and attended Mass every evening, and also received Catholic pastoral care to ensure they were on the right path.

They held their wedding ceremony at St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Church in St. Petersburg, with 140 Catholic guests in attendance, half of whom were under the age of 30.

According to Father Joe, “everyone in attendance prayed their way through the wedding” and the ceremony was “one of the most spiritual he had ever conducted.”

“So many very fiery, passionate young people united in their faith,” he told the Tampa Bay Times.

The newlyweds spent their wedding night in their new Carrollwood apartment and drove to Miami the following night.

They then honeymooned on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

On the first morning, Nate, who had been able to swim since he was two and was on the show team in high school, decided to go water skiing.

But when Mari saw the boat heading back to shore, her husband was on deck being resuscitated.

By the time emergency services arrived, Nate had been unconscious for half an hour. He was pronounced dead three days after their wedding.

Nate’s Catholic parents, Heather and Gordon, traveled to St. Lucia to pray over their son’s body in the hospital, along with the now-widowed man and her parents, while two police officers stood outside.

After 15 minutes of praying and hoping he would return, Nate’s body was taken away for an autopsy.

“I don’t think I could be mad at God. My whole relationship with Nate was about getting each other to heaven. Now he was here. I was confused. Are you kidding me, Nate? He was always so competitive. You really had to be in heaven for me?” Mari said.

The distraught mother later said that her priest, Monsignor Joseph Pellegrino, had assured her that “if God wants to bring Nathanael back to life, He will.”

The funeral was attended by at least 1,000 people, including 15 priests, and was broadcast online.

Weeks later, Mari realized that her period had missed, but she thought it was because she was sad about not eating or sleeping.

She finally took a test on Thanksgiving to “get that thought out of her head,” but instead burst into tears when she discovered she was, in fact, pregnant.

“This has to be a miracle,” she told her in-laws. “God himself had to kick an egg out.”

When Heather and Gordon heard this wonderful news, they were overjoyed and began preparing for the arrival of their grandson.

When she announced her pregnancy on Instagram, she wrote, “The joy of pregnancy is so hard to put into words, so I don’t have much to say. All I can say is that God truly amazes and takes my breath away with the way He purposely created us, especially women! To be able to contribute to the creation of a human being through an act of love is truly an amazing privilege. I am eternally grateful to the Lord for that.”

On July 18, Mari gave birth to Raphael Patrick Kuhlman and posted photos of the baby on Instagram.

‘Raphael Patrick, my heart is exploding with joy that you are here! No words can express how much I love you already. With your father we always told each other how our love for each other GROWS every day.

“And it’s the same with you now, every minute my heart falls more and more in love with you! Raphael, welcome to this side of the veil, I can’t wait for the life we ​​have together, as we live our lives and strive for heaven to be one with the Father and to be reunited with your father, Nathaniel!” she told the world.

The new mother also shared that she hung a framed photo of Jesus above the baby’s crib as well as their wedding photo so he would see his father every morning when he woke up.